ATHENS, Ga. --- The Georgia soccer team will kick off the 2013 season this weekend with a pair of road games in the Lone Star State, set to meet the University of Texas on Fri., Aug. 23 at 8 p.m. ET in Austin before traveling to face the University of Houston on Sun., Aug. 25 at 2 p.m. ET in Houston.

Georgia will offer live audio coverage for both contests on Georgiadogs.com with commentary from Kevin Copp beginning just prior to kickoff. Live scoring and the Georgia Soccer Live Blog will also be available on Georgiadogs.com.

Georgia in Season Openers: The Bulldogs are 14-2-2 all-time in season openers, most recently defeating UNC Greensboro in overtime last season in Athens. Georgia last opened a season on the road in 2011, defeating Furman 3-1.

The Bulldogs are winners of seven of their last eight season openers dating back to 2005, and have outscored opponents by a count of 24-3 in those games.

About the Bulldogs: The 2013 Bulldogs return six regular starters and 15 letterwinners from last season, including first team All-South Region and second team All-SEC defender Torri Allen as well as the team’s leading offensive player from 2012 in senior Nicole Locandro (4g, 3a, 11p). Additionally, the squad welcomed in 16 newcomers, including two Gatorade high school state players of the year in Marion Crowder (Mississippi) and Rachel Garcia (Georgia).

Georgia’s 2013 schedule is again a difficult one, with the squad set to face off against six NCAA Tournament teams from last season. Georgia will play 11 home games and will only meet 11 of the 13 SEC teams this season in the second year of conference expansion, missing out on Vanderbilt and Tennessee during the regular season in 2013.

Last Time Out: The Georgia soccer team got four goals from freshmen in the Bulldogs’ 9-0 exhibition scrimmage win over The Citadel last Friday night at the UGA Soccer Stadium. Though it was an exhibition, it still marked Georgia’s highest scoring output in a game since the team scored 11 vs. South Alabama in 1999.

Looking at the Longhorns: Texas enters the official portion of the 2013 season following a 6-1 win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Aug. 16 in exhibition action in Austin. In that game, junior Sharis Lachappelle scored two goals, sophomore Lindsey Meyer added a goal and a pair of assists and sophomore Kelsey Shimmick recorded two assists to lead the offense. The Longhorns return 18 players from last season, including 2012 leading goal-scorer Lachappelle, who had five goals and one assist for 11 points.

Texas finished 8-10-2 in 2012, reaching the semifinals of the Big 12 tournament.

Georgia is 0-1 all-time vs. UT, a 3-0 loss in 2011 in Athens, while bringing in a record of 6-4-1 against the Big 12.

Looking at the Cougars: Houston has played one exhibition this fall, a 1-0 win over Northwestern State. The Cougars will play Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Friday night before meeting Georgia on Sunday.

Houston went 7-9-3 in 2012, including a 3-4-2 record in league play while advancing to the first round of the Conference-USA Tournament.

The Cougars will rely heavily on experience this season, as the roster includes 11 seniors. Houston brings back a pair of C-USA All-Conference honorees in senior goalkeeper Cami Koski and senior midfielder Kylee Cook, while also returning Houston’s top scorer from a year ago in senior Jasmine Martinez. The squad also brings in 11 newcomers, including five NCAA Division I transfers.

Georgia is 1-0 in the all-time series vs. Houston, a 4-1 win back in 2003. The Bulldogs are 5-2 all-time against C-USA foes.

Milestone Nearing For Holeman: Georgia fourth-year head coach Steve Holeman is nearing a milestone in his career, as he sits just four wins shy of 200. Holeman’s all-time record is 196-148-39 (.563) in 19 seasons. The longest-tenured active coach in the Southeastern Conference, Holeman coached one year at Auburn, 15 years at Ole Miss, and has completed three at UGA.

Next Up: Georgia will head back to Athens for the home opener next Friday vs. Mercer on Aug. 30 at 7 p.m. The Bulldogs will then host Furman on Sun., Sept. 1 at 2 p.m. Both games will include live video coverage on Georgiadogs.com as well as live scoring.